Video games have treated us to all manner of simulation jobs over the years. We’ve built hospitals, maintained zoos, tilled farmland and even built roller coasters that were definitely not safe for anyone to ride. But what about building and running your very own prison? Now that’s a whole other kettle of incarcerated fish. Do you rule with an iron grip and risk mass riots, or do you pamper your prisoners with lavish affection? Whatever your management style, Prison Architect: Nintendo Switch Edition has every possible tool, resource and scenario you could possibly ask for.
Much like the PC original - which eventually exited Early Access in 2015 before making the jump to other consoles the year after - the Switch version of this prison simulation is a vast and often intimidating beast, especially if you’re new to this kind of game. It’s both a blessing and a curse for this impressive little indie, offering up a sublime and deeply empowering management experience, but one that requires every ounce of your attention. Heed our warning: this is no casual walk in the prison yard.
As the warden of a privately-owned prison, it’s your job to run, maintain, expand and ‘control’ a prison of your very own making. And you’ve got the scope - and the budget - to pull it off. But there’s more to this than just selecting a building type and plonking it down on a plot of land. Should you choose Prison Architect mode, you’ll need to build foundations, then erect walls to separate rooms or cells. You’ll need to designate each room a specific role, then furnish it appropriately. Next, you’ll link it up to the water mains and an electrical grid. And that’s just the surface.
This is a prison after all, and a correctional facility needs guards and trained staff to ensure those locked-up convicts don’t get any ideas above their station. You’ll need to hire staff, and train them, and ensure they follow manually drawn guard routes to show your nefarious population who’s boss. You can set up education programs for your cons to keep them entertained, and state of the art canteens to fill them up with the latest in prison slop, but you’ll still need to oversee the need for treatment centres and parole hearings. However, if the idea of building a penal institution from the dirt up is a little too intimidating, you can also select Prison Warden mode instead and expand or maintain a pre-designed facility.
Your dangerous population is also your biggest asset. You get money for keeping every convict locked up, so you’ll need to weigh up cramming them in like sardines and rake in that sweet, sweet cash (and potentially rake in riots while you’re at it) or create a high-end correctional palace that costs the earth but keeps your charges ‘happy’ for the most part. But, this is a slammer after all, and if we’ve learned anything from the halcyon days of Theme Hosptial, Dungeon Keeper and Rollercoaster Tycoon, it’s that things always go wrong.
Fail to keep every cell, oven, electric chair and shower unit in good working order - and with so many systems to track you almost certainly will let something slip into disrepair - and you could have anything from a prison-wide power outage to a raging fire that consumes entire blocks and the orange jumpsuit-ed denizens within. Now you’ll need to call firefighters and manually direct them where to go before removing all the ruined masonry. It’s a constant reminder that everything needs to be micromanaged and few things are truly automated. Oh, and there’s the constant worry that your throng of inmates are secretly plotting - or pulling off, Andy Dufresne-style - a daring bid for freedom. It feels almost like a violation the first time it happens, but it’s a costly reminder your virtual prison will almost certainly chow down on the hand that feeds it.
And you’re getting some serious content for your £25/$30, too. Freshly released as part of Nintendo’s latest raft of indie support, this edition of the game packs in the freeform Prison Architect/Prison Warden modes alongside a set of five Prison Stories that serve as a welcome tutorial (with an added narrative twist). You’ll also get access to the World of Wardens (where you can play the original designs of other players in the community, and share your own). There’s even an incoming Escape mode that tasks you with recruiting a crew and making a bid for freedom (although this will come as DLC later in the summer). And, as if that wasn’t enough, you’ll have access to eight new wardens, eight new maps and the handy ability to pad your cells and add a wing for the Criminally Insane. It’s certainly an impressive haul.
The only real issue we have with Prison Architect on Switch is the same one we encountered on other console versions - the awkward transition of its controls to a ‘traditional’ pad. Whether you’re using the Joy-Cons in their various configurations or a Pro Controller, there’s simply no substitute for the unrivalled dexterity of a mouse and keyboard. Double Eleven - the same studio that ported the game previously - has done the best it can with that inherent problem, but even after countless hours of play, using an analog stick to control a cursor still doesn’t feel natural.
Conclusion
With all manner of pre-designed and freeform modes - and a haul of DLC included as standard - the last thing you’ll be doing with Prison Architect: Nintendo Switch Edition is hard time. The sheer amount of interconnected systems you need to track and maintain are as vast as they are intricate, but learn to spin its penal plates and you’ll have one of the deepest - and most rewarding - simulation games ever made at your fingertips. It’s still an awkward fit for console controls, but the game beneath them is worth the effort nonetheless.
Comments (45)
I'll get this if it ever goes on sale.
Fully behind the concept of this, but couldn't they have managed touchscreen controls at least?
Quite fancy a game like this but I really don't like the art style and can't imagine playing a game like this without a mouse. Looking forward to Two Point Hospital, the spiritual successor to Theme Hospital, on PC though.
Pointer controls would have been a nice option to have. I'd imagine touchscreen controls would be too fiddly?
@gcunit Elements on screen or too small and intricate, it just wouldn't have worked.
@Dom That's why God invented zoom!
after owning this game on steam and IOS and a ps4 (which was sold) i made the jump and bought it yet again.. 24 quid for what is essentially a massive full blown tycoon game is nothing to be honest (and Ive now bought it 3 times)
it runs insanely well on the switch - 3 hours in and no lag with over 100 peeps in the prison. and control wise - give it 30 mins and you wont even notice you are not using a mouse - that's how well optimized the controls are. (i recommend pumping the sensitivity up to 100 % for the thumb nub) . With only a couple of caveats removed from the PC version this is the whole full blown experience. Good job double eleven. More sim / god games on switch now PLEASE!
Bought it on pc and when it came to android now i have bought it a third time on switch
@b0nes Was about to commend your post, but checked your profile first. Now I'm suspicious...
@gcunit while he may be new his points are valid. The game runs great.
I love a good "sim" game, and it's been awhile since I've played one, and this really looks fun. I've always wanted to create my own "OZ." lol But I think I'll wait till it goes on sale as well.
Aside from the guys above, has anyone else played this game on Switch and can verify the controls are workable? ...I’m so wanting to get this on Switch, but $30 for frustration will suck.
Just wait 30 days and it will be 30-40% off.
@Quincy I didn't touch on the controls, but they are extremely easy to use. After getting used to them, they feel like second nature.
I've played this on PC, PS4, Xbox One and now Switch and while there is a learning curve to the controls from a PC, the devs have done a remarkable job in getting everything over and making it functional.
"but even after countless hours of play, using an analog stick to control a cursor still doesn’t feel natural."
Yeah but you can lean back or lie on the bed to play a sims game, but they really should add touchscreen control.
The display suffered the same problem as Darkest Dungeon: some of the fonts are so small you can't read it in portable mode.
@Nincompoop touch screen wouldn't work on this game. Too much on the screen at one time so would be fiddly to do.
I agree that some of the text could do with being made bigger - see The Escapist 2 for an example, the text in that game is perfect.
This just seems a bit of a sadistic and grim premise to me but perhaps I’m being oversensitive. It’s not like I haven’t shot a million things in games etc .
I had no clue this game was coming out on Switch, we really need more business tycoon type of games, those were some of my favorite as a kid. I would kill for a Sim City game or one from The Sims.
As much as I really do want a good building and resource management sim on Switch... A prison theme is just not the least bit appealing to me. Even sitting aside the serious real world problems it reminds me of, because this is obviously fiction, I have never imagined being a prison warden as fun or interesting. The whole idea just seems like it would be tedious and unrewarding, much like I understand the job to be in the real world. When I saw the video for this I just thought "No. No, why would I want a game like this?" This game is very very near the bottom of my list of wanted games on the Switch.
And it's a shame, because I'd kill for a good building sim on Switch, but this ain't it. Not for me. I drool at the idea of something like Cities Skylines or Sim City on Switch. Or a 2D base builder like Fallout Shelter - without the terrible F2P aspects, and horrible "missions" and more focus on the base building and tower defense aspects.
@frodouk Could a cursor that can be dragged around via touch work? So you're not relying on the exact point your fingertip is at, just where you've dragged the cursor to.
Played this on PC and thought it was great, up until I shot too many escapees and the game abruptly ended as was and turned into some sort of weird prisoner simulation, with me then expected to try to break out of the place I'd created. There was no warning however in the tutorials that this could happen and 70 hours of play went down the tubes. Very bad design in this regard. The best strategy games would never punish you so instantly and totally.
@BionicDodo possibly
Switch needs another Introversion title: Defcon.
Awesome, atmospheric and multi layered strategy at its best!
I bounced hard off this many a time. The warden mode intrigues me though. Will look that up. Otherwise just not the game for me, despite me normally loving this stuff. Would love a new Dungeon Keeper (not that mobile one tho), on Switch, but EA. Anyway, I think I'll go play Escapists 2.
@Kirby-in-Kirkby I would so buy that again.
@gcunit ahh. ive never posted before. i follow this site but never made an account. thought it was about time i did and put my two pence worth in!
The complexity is a big turn off for me. I bought The Escapists 2 because the concept and DA were very appealing to me... and it was already too complex for me. Prison Architect seems even harder to get into.
@Nincompoop a sims game would be good on switch!
The main thing keeping me from buying this one for now is the price. For a download only game, it's on the very high end and I'm not sure that I'll like it enough to justify the price. If it goes on sale I'll consider it, or if it had a physical copy. Also disappointed by the lack of touchscreen controls. Even if it supposedly wouldn't work too well, I still wish the option was there so I could give it a go with my stylus.
F2P on iOS. Didn't care for it.
@Kirby-in-Kirkby Darwinia. one of the most memorable games I've ever played.
@Agramonte F2P version is nothing like the full paid version.
@frodouk It is the same game. You get the first 2 chapters and sandbox. You buy the rest if you care for it.
Introversion Software made a 40 min YouTube video explaining the game to everyone last year. They were going to sell it as a full price game and Apple and Paradox told them it was a bad idea.
@Agramonte fair enough .. thought I'd seen it was a pure pay to win type game on iOS
@frodouk Not sure. All I remember was a "full game bundle" as an in-app purchase. I know "Prison escape" had not release for it. Maybe they got more stuff for it now.
Could always use it as a Demo and buy the Switch version if they like it.
Looking at the price there could be a physical version that I will pick up. Too expensive for digital though. Still waiting for The Escapists 2 physical Switch version.
@frodouk Thanks! I’ll be playing this while watching Orange Is The New Black.
I would much rather have a city builder
I need to check into the game and see what has changed, I haven't touched it in years. It was way too glitchy and all that back in the early access days, after that I kinda just forgot about it. lol
@Ralizah
Could this be what I've been searching for?!
@GameOtaku I doubt it. These are blocky pixel men, not anime girls.
I will definitely be picking this up
Waiting for sale. Will try to get wife into this as she lived Theme Hospital. Also still waiting for a mouse style controller to come out...
I was thinking of picking this up for the Switch when it dropped in price a little.
It was given away as a 'free' Xbox gold game this month though, so now there's no point me paying for it.
@Aven it's on sale now mate
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